A political advertising campaign has been launched by fantasy sports betting firms in a bid to legalize daily online fantasy sports apps in Louisiana. Voters can have their say on the proposition at the upcoming Nov 6 ballot.
Fairness for Fantasy Sports in Louisiana, a new political action committee is behind the campaign and are backed by major fantasy sports companies. In September, the group reported that they had raised $154,135 with almost all of the money coming from US daily fantasy sports provider FanDuel.
DraftKings which is a major rival to FanDuel will likely contribute to the campaign as well.
Ryan Berni, campaign chairman said the advertising campaign was officially launched on Oct 8, following the victory of New Orleans Saints over the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. They have also set up a new website promoting the ballot initiative.
Fairness for Fantasy Sports Louisiana
Voters Will Decide
Fantasy smartphone apps offer a different setup from traditional fantasy sports in several ways. First, daily sports games can be played against strangers instead of leagues which take seasons to build.
A player can form a team for a day, rather than keeping a single team for an entire season. Second, wagering is allowed on a player’s performance in a certain game. In addition to that, fans can also play multiple games at a time, with options that enable them to spend their money more easily.
Fans are currently not allowed to play daily fantasy sports games in Louisiana, and the state requires a successful ballot initiative for the games to become legal. The ballot needs a parish-by-parish vote, which means New Orleans could approve the measure within its borders, but St Tammany Parish could oppose it. Over 50 per cent of voters in each parish should vote YES to the ballot for the daily fantasy sports apps to be legalized throughout the state.
New Regulations Need To Be Put In Place
The Louisiana Legislature will have to come up with new tax structure legislation as well as regulatory measures if the proposition turns out successful. Many questions still remain on the future of daily fantasy sports apps in the state, such as on the issue of electronic fencing and who needs to pay for it.
FanDuel and DraftKings are currently prohibited in nine states including Louisiana and the companies have stopped operating in other states due to strict regulations and strong government opposition.
